Tag Archives: Royal Mint

If you’re an APMEX customer, you may know The Perth Mint as the prized destination for our annual “Escape To Australia” contest. As an investor or collector, you probably know The Perth Mint for their products. Their Gold and Silver Lunar coins are among the most beautiful and collected Chinese Zodiac coins in the world. Here are a few surprising facts about The Perth Mint that you might not know.

Rare. Many Perth Mint coins are made in strictly limited mintages, giving even their most value-priced bullion coins a dimension of collectibility.

Same Location since 1899. The Perth Mint was established in 1899 as a branch of Britain’s Royal Mint. Today, it’s one of the oldest mints in the world to operate on its original premises, despite the name change.. The Perth Mint is actually incorporated as Gold Corporation and has two wholly owned subsidiaries – Western Australian Mint and GoldCorp USA.

Created The First Gold Bullion Series. In 1986, The Perth Mint launched the Australian Gold Nugget Coin Series, the first bullion series with a reverse (back) design that changes every year. The first few coins featured Gold nuggets. In 1989, the design switched to a kangaroo. Today, we commonly call this series the Australian Gold Kangaroo.

Biggest and Best. In 2011, The Perth Mint unveiled the biggest, heaviest and inherently most valuable Gold coin in the world. Weighing in at 1,000kg (2,204.6 pounds), this coin contains one metric tonne of 99.99 percent pure Gold and is worth more than $42.6 million at current Gold prices.

A Refinery and A Mint. There’s only one Gold refinery in Australia and it’s The Perth Mint. Between coins, bullion and industrial Gold, The Perth Mint produces more than 400 tonnes of Gold per year.

Visit Perth and The Mint. Located on the Western Shore of Australia, Perth is a bustling and beautiful city with beaches, parks and natural wonders unique to this island continent. You can also visit The Perth Mint while you’re there. In fact, you could…

WIN A FREE TRIP TO PERTH AND THE PERTH MINT!

Every fall, when the new Perth Mint coins come out, APMEX launches the “Escape To Australia” contest. Watch for it on this blog and APMEX.com.

On Oct 1, 2012, the Perth Mint in Australia released the latest issue of a popular Gold bullion series: the 2013 Australian Gold Kangaroo. Much like the previous releases in this series, these Gold Kangaroos are issued as Australian legal tender and guaranteed by the Commonwealth Government of Australia.

The Australian Gold Kangaroos have been offered by the Perth Mint since 1989 and are one of the few Gold bullion coins to change its reverse design each year. This year’s issue depicts a kangaroo standing against the Australian outback. The kilo coin differs slightly, in that the image is instead a hopping Red Kangaroo. The “P” mint mark appears on the reverse of each coin, along with the inscriptions “Australian Kangaroo,” the date, size of the coin, and the purity, “9999 Gold.” The obverse of each coin shows the Ian Rank-Broadley likeness of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the coin’s monetary denomination.

The Perth Mint opened in 1899, originally serving as a branch of Britain’s Royal Mint to help supply Gold sovereigns and half sovereigns, which were used as everyday circulating coins throughout the British Empire. In 1970, control of the mint passed from Britain to the Western Australian Government, which still owns it today.

To add these beautiful coins to your collection or your investment portfolio, shop APMEX’s selection of 2013 Australian Gold Kangaroo bullion coins. APMEX makes it easy to buy Gold by offering competitive Gold prices on all Gold coins and bars.

In 1990, the Perth Mint of Australia began minting an unusual Silver bullion coin: the Silver Kookaburra. These beautiful coins celebrate the very interesting bird native to Australia. The kookaburra is the world’s largest kingfisher and is sometimes called the “laughing jackass” because of its chattering calls. Each year features a different reverse design, and the 2013 is believed to be one of the stand-outs of the entire series!

The reverse of this year’s issue displays two kookaburras sitting on a tree branch, similar to the 1994 and 2001 designs, but in much nicer detail. Each 1 oz Silver Australian Kookaburra contains .999 fine Silver and includes prooflike frosting in the central design. The obverse of this Silver coin features a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and lists the face value of the coin, which originally was $5, but was lowered to $1 in 1992.

The Perth Mint began in 1899 as a branch of Britain’s Royal Mint in order to help supply the Gold sovereigns and half sovereigns that were used as everyday circulating coins throughout the British Empire. In 1970, control of the mint passed from Britain to the Western Australian Government, which still owns it to this day.